Football results Friday 18 September 2026: AI predictions review

Friday 18 September 2026 produced a mixed bag for the 10 frontier AI models tracked by TuringStats, with a consensus record of 15 correct from 32 matches. The models found plenty of short-price winners but were undone by a series of upsets across Europe and South America.

The biggest surprise came at the Brentford Community Stadium, where Brentford thrashed Chelsea 3-0. The consensus had leaned towards a draw, with 58% of 12 models backing a stalemate and a most common score of 1-1. That result alone cost the models dearly, but it was far from the only miss.

A full-time scoreline that defied the consensus on Friday night

Where the AI got it right

VfL Wolfsburg vs SV Darmstadt 98 prediction: All 10 models backed Wolfsburg, and they were rewarded with a 5-1 rout. The most common score was 2-0, but the margin mattered little as the home side cruised.

Rapid Vienna vs WSG Wattens prediction: Another unanimous call, Rapid Vienna win, and another comfortable 3-0 victory. The models had 100% confidence and an average confidence of 60%.

Bayern München vs Union Berlin prediction: Bayern were the safest bet of the day, with all 12 models predicting a home win. The most common score was 3-0, but Bayern went one better with a 7-0 demolition. Average confidence was 68%.

Groningen vs PEC Zwolle prediction: 90% of models fancied Groningen, and they delivered a 3-0 win. The most common score was 2-1, so the clean sheet was a bonus.

Gent vs Standard Liege prediction: 90% of models went for Gent, and they edged a 2-1 victory. The most common score was correctly 2-1, with average confidence at 56%.

Where it got it wrong

The models suffered a notable miss in La Liga, where 92% of 12 models backed Espanyol to beat Elche. Instead, Elche ran out 3-1 winners. The most common score was 1-0, and average confidence was 58%, making it one of the day's biggest upsets.

In the Premier League, the consensus was a draw between Brentford and Chelsea, with 58% of 12 models opting for 1-1. Brentford's 3-0 win was a clear deviation from the script.

Elsewhere, Flamengo were expected to see off Independiente del Valle in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, with all 10 models predicting a home win. The match ended 1-1, a result that few saw coming. Similarly, Widzew Łódź were unanimous picks to beat Wieczysta Kraków in the Ekstraklasa, but they were held to a 2-2 draw.

In the Eliteserien, Sarpsborg 08 FF were backed by all 10 models to beat KFUM Oslo, yet they lost 3-1. And in Ligue 2, Reims were unanimous picks to beat Montpellier, but the game finished 1-1.

Other misses included Bristol City's 1-0 win over Watford (consensus draw), Yate Town's 0-0 draw with Chippenham Town (consensus Chippenham win), Uta Arad's 1-0 win over Sepsi OSK (consensus draw), and New York City FC's 0-1 loss to New York Red Bulls (consensus NYC win).

Models of the day

Mistral Medium 3.5 and DeepSeek V4 Pro shared the spoils, each correctly predicting 16 of 32 outcomes. They were the only models to exceed the consensus record. GPT-5.6 Luna, Qwen 3.8 Max and Gemini 3.8 Flash all finished on 15 correct, matching the consensus.

At the other end, Claude Sonnet 5 struggled with just 11 correct from 32. Cohere Command R+ (08-2024) managed 3 of 5, while Llama 3.1 70B Instruct could only muster 1 of 5.

Full results

• 2. Bundesliga: SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1-1 1. FC Magdeburg — consensus SpVgg Greuther Fürth win (70%) WRONG
• 2. Bundesliga: VfL Wolfsburg 5-1 SV Darmstadt 98 — consensus VfL Wolfsburg win (100%) RIGHT
• Bundesliga: Rapid Vienna 3-0 WSG Wattens — consensus Rapid Vienna win (100%) RIGHT
• Bundesliga: Bayern München 7-0 Union Berlin — consensus Bayern München win (100%) RIGHT
• Championship: Bristol City 1-0 Watford — consensus draw (70%) WRONG
• CONMEBOL Libertadores: Flamengo 1-1 Independiente del Valle — consensus Flamengo win (100%) WRONG
• CONMEBOL Sudamericana: Atletico Torque 3-0 Cienciano — consensus Atletico Torque win (60%) RIGHT
• Ekstraklasa: Widzew Łódź 2-2 Wieczysta Kraków — consensus Widzew Łódź win (100%) WRONG
• Ekstraklasa: Wisla Krakow 2-1 Slask Wroclaw — consensus Wisla Krakow win (80%) RIGHT
• Eliteserien: Sarpsborg 08 FF 1-3 KFUM Oslo — consensus Sarpsborg 08 FF win (100%) WRONG
• Eredivisie: Groningen 3-0 PEC Zwolle — consensus Groningen win (90%) RIGHT
• FA Cup: Worcester City 2-1 Stratford Town — consensus Worcester City win (80%) RIGHT
• FA Cup: Yate Town 0-0 Chippenham Town — consensus Chippenham Town win (90%) WRONG
• Jupiler Pro League: Gent 2-1 Standard Liege — consensus Gent win (90%) RIGHT
• La Liga: Espanyol 1-3 Elche — consensus Espanyol win (92%) WRONG
• Liga I: Uta Arad 1-0 Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe — consensus draw (60%) WRONG
• Liga I: Rapid 3-1 Arges Pitesti — consensus Rapid win (100%) RIGHT
• Liga Profesional Argentina: Central Cordoba de Santiago 2-2 Defensa Y Justicia — consensus draw (70%) RIGHT
• Ligue 1: Monaco 2-1 Lens — consensus Monaco win (67%) RIGHT
• Ligue 2: Laval 1-1 Sochaux — consensus Laval win (50%) WRONG
• Ligue 2: PAU 2-0 Dunkerque — consensus PAU win (50%) RIGHT
• Ligue 2: Reims 1-1 Montpellier — consensus Reims win (100%) WRONG
• Ligue 2: Rodez 3-4 Nancy — consensus Rodez win (50%) WRONG
• Ligue 2: Annecy 1-2 Dijon — consensus Annecy win (70%) WRONG
• Ligue 2: Grenoble 1-1 Clermont Foot — consensus Grenoble win (50%) WRONG
• Major League Soccer: New York City FC 0-1 New York Red Bulls — consensus New York City FC win (60%) WRONG
• Premier League: Brentford 3-0 Chelsea — consensus draw (58%) WRONG
• Segunda División: Albacete 1-2 Cordoba — consensus Albacete win (60%) WRONG
• Serie A: Monza 2-1 Sassuolo — consensus Monza win (67%) RIGHT
• Serie B: Juve Stabia 1-1 Cesena — consensus draw (70%) RIGHT
• Süper Lig: Kasımpaşa 0-0 Konyaspor — consensus Kasımpaşa win (50%) WRONG
• Superliga: Lyngby 0-4 Silkeborg — consensus Silkeborg win (60%) RIGHT

For today's AI predictions across all major fixtures, visit the TuringStats predictions page.

Next up: today's football predictions from the same panel, and the results archive with every graded call. Forecasts are informational only.